


The cost of a life

by PeterHaleforAlpha



Series: Poison [1]
Category: Haven - Fandom
Genre: Angst, Blood, Crocker Curse, Dark fic, Early Season 4, M/M, Murder, Really dark, poison trouble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-02
Packaged: 2018-03-20 22:49:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3668097
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeterHaleforAlpha/pseuds/PeterHaleforAlpha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Duke get called by Dwight to help with the newest Trouble problem, which is a young man who sets free poisonous gas. It happens that Nathan is in the same room with the man while he's having another attack. He locked himself in while Duke is at the other side of the door and wants to help Nathan.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The cost of a life

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Русский available: [Цена за жизнь](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5380052) by [Zerinten](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zerinten/pseuds/Zerinten)



Duke rushed into the Police Department. All seemed normal but he had a bad feeling. Dwight called him. Dwight!

Normally it was Nathan if they really wanted some help with a case but now it was Dwight and Duke was worried through and through. He spotted the new Police Chief and approached him immediately.

“What is it? How bad?” He looked around and tried to find Nathan among the other cops but he couldn’t see him. He wasn’t sitting in his office either as far as Duke could see from this angle.

“Really bad. We have eight dead people so far.”

Duke looked around again. It didn’t seem like Armageddon but to be fair not all cops were aware of the Troubles. Dwight and Nathan always tried to hold these cases as low as possible. “It’s a Trouble that sets free poisonous gas.”

“Poison?” Duke tried not to yell but he was louder than he planned to. Poison was never good. A poisonous gas was even worse. You couldn’t escape it. “Tell me you know who has the Trouble.”

“Nathan is just talking to a suspect but we are not sure if it’s him,” Dwight reported.

Duke had an enormous urge to get to Nathan instantly but he had to ask one more thing. “Why did you call me?” It wasn’t Duke who was good with troubled people, that was Audrey and that was Nathan but not him. Duke helped them if he could but he was not as understanding as Audrey or as compassionate as Nathan. He couldn’t glance with such qualities.

Dwight didn’t answer, he just looked in Duke’s eyes, serious and regretful at the same time.

Duke knew it since he heard of the Trouble they were dealing with. Dwight called him as a backup plan. If nothing they tried would work then Duke could step in and do what he does. He didn’t like it, he didn’t like to get used but he could understand, somehow, a little. What was one life compared to a couple others? It was one life that Duke would have taken away.

He shook his head, told Dwight that he would go to Nathan and left him standing there.

 

Duke walked over to the interrogation room and knocked on the door. It was a small precinct so they had no room right next to it with a fake mirror. Just a little room for questioning. So if Duke wanted to help he just had to walk in there. He didn’t wait for Nathan to answer the door, he just pushed it open. He was no cop, he didn’t have to follow the rules.

“It’s me, Nathan. Dwight called me to help you and-“ The door was pushed closed again and he heard a click as if Nathan or someone else locked the door. “Nathan! Nathan?” Duke yelled and tried to open the door again, turning the knob but the door remained shut. “What’s going on? Nathan?”

“It’s him!” It was Nathan’s voice and it was totally calm. How could he be so calm? Duke was freaking out especially about the fact that Nathan locked himself in there with this guy.

“Open the door, Nate. Get out of there!” Duke hammered against the wood. He just wanted to reach his friend, to punch him for his stupidity. “Open the door!”

“It’s too late. I’m already infected.”

Duke stopped and stood totally still for a second. No! This was not true. This wasn’t happening. “Nate…”

“Just go away, Duke. Evacuate the building. Bring everyone to safety.”

“I’m not leaving without you.” The words were faster over his lips than Duke could think about them but he didn’t care if it let him look weak or anything. It was the damn truth. He wouldn’t leave Nathan. They swore each other to find Audrey – together. So Duke was not leaving.

“Save the others!”

Duke leaned his forehead against the door. He didn’t want to lose Nathan and he wouldn’t. He straightened up again. “Dwight,” he called and got his intention. “Get everybody out of here!”

The Chief nodded and started the evacuation.

“You should go too, Duke. Leave! I’ve got this.”

He got this? He would die. Duke wanted to believe in him, wanted to believe that Nathan could get through to this person who was sitting there with him. He wanted to trust Nathan in this but the risk was too high. Duke didn’t know anything about this poison. He didn’t know how it would infect the body, if Nathan was already on the ground and just seemed so well because he couldn’t feel a thing. He didn’t know anything about this person inside and how to help talk him through his Trouble so he might get it under control.

Duke had only one way of helping Nathan and it scared him. It scared him that he didn’t even think twice about it. He would do it. He would do it to save Nathan’s life because he was the last person on Earth which Duke had left. The last person which mattered to Duke. He couldn’t bare to lose him too.

“Just go, Duke!” Nathan knew that he was still there. “You can’t help me.”

Oh, he could and he would. And Nathan had to know that too but he sometimes wanted to ignore this side of Duke. The Crocker Curse! The ability of taking away a Trouble by killing someone. It would help in this situation. It was probably the only thing that could help Nathan right now.

“I will kick in this door, Nate, so just open it.” Duke smashed against it. “Please, just open the door and let me help you.”

“I can’t let you do this, Duke.”

Duke froze. Nathan’s voice was full of compassion and he sounded so sad, something that was rare. Normally he reacted with anger if it came to discussing if they used the Crocker Curse because it was wrong and he was afraid that Duke could turn into a serial killer someday. But now … if Duke didn’t know his friend better he would say that Nathan was trying to protect him from something bad. Duke knew what he would put himself into if he killed this man but it was Nathan’s life that was on the line and that’s why Duke didn’t think about that. He hadn’t the luxury to think about that because it was about Nathan.

“Nathan! Just let me in. You can’t protect me but I can protect you. I _can_ save you.”

There was silence, no protest, no trying to convince him to leave. “Nathan?” Duke’s panic rose. His heart was beating faster. “Nathan, answer me.” He smashed his whole body against this fucking door. Again and again. “Nathan, dammit, say something.”

“He … can’t. I think … I think he is dying.” This was another voice, probably from the troubled person. “Just go, I don’t want to kill anyone else. Please, just go.”

Duke didn’t even think about leaving. Now he was more determined to get in there. One last smash against the door and it was open. Duke almost lost his balance because he didn’t expect it to happen but he caught himself. At first he noticed Nathan on the floor as he was looking around.

“Nathan!” He sank next to his friend and laid a hand on his chest. He was still breathing and had a pulse, a weak one, but there was it. There was still time to save him. So Duke grabbed Nathan’s gun and stood up.

“Don’t … Duke, don’t.” Nathan tried to open his eyes but failed.

Duke shook his head. “I’m sorry, Nathan. There is no other way.” And this was the first time he turned to see the man who caused all this and Duke froze. It wasn’t a man, not a grown up at least. He was young, maybe 23 or 24 and he was scared. He was so damn scared.

Duke pointed the gun at him and the young man automatically rose his arms. “Please, don’t kill me. I didn’t mean to do this, nothing of this. I can’t control it. It … it just comes out, this gas. Please, don’t.” Tears ran over the face of this boy and more gas poured out of his skin. It looked weird how this man was just covered in green gas. “Every time when I feel like back in school it comes out. I can’t control it. Please.”

Duke’s hand was shaking. It was a boy, nothing more. A boy who meant no harm, who was just unlucky to have such a dangerous Trouble. He was just a boy.

Right in this moment Nathan caught for air, he was trying desperately to breath and he failed. Duke needed just one look to know that this was his last moments. He wouldn’t miraculously be able to breathe again. He would only have seconds left, not enough time to talk to the young man, to figure out what triggered his Trouble or how it worked. Not enough time to stop his Trouble to save Nathan.

This was it. Nathan was dying and this scene scared him more than anything else. He thought about his father, who he lost and he thought about Audrey who went into that barn. He thought about all the people in his life who went away and he couldn’t bear to see one more leaving and especially not Nathan. Duke would follow him anywhere if Nathan would ask him. He would do anything for him. He loved him since there were kids. He couldn’t lose him. And he wouldn’t because he had a way to save him and Duke didn’t think about the consequences. He thought only about Nathan because this was the only thing that mattered. The only way he could do this.

For Nathan.

Duke closed his eyes and took a deep breath while he was turning to the young man again. “I’m so sorry for this.” And he pulled the trigger.

He was just a boy. A boy who was threatening Nathan’s life – unwillingly, but he did.  

Duke approached the young man, laid his hand on the bloody wound of the man. He shot him right in the heart. As he touched the blood, it happened. He felt strong and powerful and invincible. It felt so good. It was the best feeling Duke had ever experienced. There was nothing that could compare to that. It felt just right and good but it didn’t should because killing people was not good, killing people was not right.

It was wrong and Duke didn’t want this feeling. He didn’t want a false impression of what he had done.

He didn’t want to feel this way.

It made everything only worse and better at the same time because he couldn’t fight it.

“Duke?”

Duke opened his eyes again and turned around. Nathan was just standing there, a step away from him, and he was fine. He was well and he was alive. Duke wanted to laugh about it, wanted to be happy about it. Nathan was still alive. He saved him. But what was the cost?

“What have you done?” Nathan was shocked. He stared at him with complete disbelief. Duke could feel his friend’s anger and he couldn’t say anything against it. Nathan was right. What had he done?

His gaze met the young man once more who sat lifeless in his chair.

Duke felt a tear running down his cheek. “I saved your life.”

**Author's Note:**

> I just had the scene in mind where Duke and Nathan are seperated through this door and it got much darker from there. I apologize for this outcome, at least a little, because I think dark!Duke is fascinating.  
> I hope you liked it nevertheless.


End file.
